The Rachel Chronicles

Lots to Say

I have lots to say - most of which I will start writing tomorrow, after I've slept for 15 hours or so.

I figured it was important to post a quick note to say that I am safely in America - and had a very fulfilling and satisfying trip to Israel. I have much to say about the war; about the rockets; about how they were a bit too close for comfort; about the volunteer work I did; about how much more volunteer work needs to happen; about the lady who was *this close* to convincing me to make aliyah and to live in the Negev; and about how I haven't seen a bed since 6am Tuesday morning (that was Israel time, which is 11pm on Monday, Boston time).

I am TIRED and ready to be home in my own bed.

Happy new year. May this year bring with it a real and sustainable peace, with security for all involved - most especially the citizens of southern Israel.

I'm off!

Packed and ready to go, I'm just waiting for the taxi to show up. I'm off to Israel in a few hours! Ok, thats not entirely true - in a few hours, I'm off to New York's JFK airport. In many more hours, I'll be off to Israel.

If you're around Yerucham this week, or J'lem at the beginning of next week, let me know!

Publicizing the Miracle

Happy Chanukah everyone!

Calorie Burning Calculator

Curious to know how much exercise I got shoveling my car out of the snow, I found a very fun calculator that I thought you would enjoy. It shows you how many calories you burn doing "your favorite activities". Apparently I burn SIX calories just by brushing my teeth, and a whopping 648 by driving from Boston to New York.

In all honesty, I'm a little sketched out by that last number. Driving usually involves me sitting, sitting, and sitting some more. Occasionally, I turn my head to make sure there are no cars intent on hitting me. Every now and then I do walk from my car into a rest area - but since that often involves putting more calories INTO my body by means of food, I hardly think it counts as exercise. Maybe its just what my body burns naturally by sitting?

And in case you were still wondering, I burned 172 calories by clearing out the snow today. But I suppose that number is a bit suspect given my concerns over the driving number....

How I'm spending my SNOW DAY

Did I mention that I got a snow day today?! and that because we don't have school today, the Shabbaton was postponed....so TWO unexpected free days! how wonderful!

I know you're dying to know how I am spending my day. Let me tell you.

I went to the grocery store for the third time in two days. I need to learn how to check my lists before leaving the store.

I did my first load of laundry in the apartment building (I've somehow been managing to get home often enough, to use my parents machines).

I borrowed a shovel from Meg and Eli, in preparation for digging out my car tomorrow. (and I borrowed a quarter, to do the laundry).

I baked some brownies. Wrote an email to my Israeli peeps, to make plans for next week. Talked to someone from Israel Bonds, to prepare for the dinner they are hosting in honor of Nana and Papa. Attempted to do school work. Wrote this blog post.

And waited for the snow.....it finally arrived about 20 minutes ago. I'm excited!

JDate, Homework, Thesis, Snow

So I finally joined JDate. I did it sort of reluctantly (although no one was pushing me, it was completely my choice, and I was ready). But I did it without expecting any results.

While I don't have any big, exciting news to announce, I have to say, I am quite impressed! Maybe its the fact that I'm talking to people 2-5 years older than I was last time I did this (three years ago?). They are real, impressive people who have done things with their lives thus far. WAY better than I was meeting before. There is definitely potential here!

And that is all that I have to say about that.

In other news, I still have a TON of work to do in the next few days. I only have one more paper to write, but it is supposed to be a long one. But I also have a little bit more work to do for another class, and I NEED to make more progress on my thesis. Like really really really NEED to make more progress.

After trying to clean up my apartment a bit tonight, I realized that while my thesis may not be taking over my life (and probably should be a little bit more), it is most certainly taking over my apartment! I found piles of research, articles, books, notes, etc. in the most random of places.

The living room floor or the kitchen table may not sound random, but how about my nightstand? What is it doing there? Or on top of my dresser?

I'm hoping for a snow day on Friday, because that would not only get me an extra day off from school, but then the junior shabbaton scheduled for this weekend would also be postponed. I know I can't count on it, but....12 inches of snow?!? They HAVE to cancel!

Globe God

I wrote a theology paper this afternoon, pretty much dumping on God and humanity. I prefaced my paper by saying that I felt that God and I had a pretty good relationship, that I meant no disrespect, and that I was fairly certain that God could handle my criticism.

While attempting to cover the assigned topics (creation, revelation, eschatology, death, etc.), I wrote that I wished God could be more like Globe Santa and actually answer the prayers being requested. Then suddenly, I had an idea. The Boston Globe sponsors Globe Santa each year to bring holiday cheer to children who would otherwise be denied it. Why don't we do the same thing with God?

Just like the people who write to Santa, many people appeal to God for assistance. But more often than not, the prayers to God seemingly go unanswered. Why is this? Because we're mistakenly believing that God is the only Being that should be privy to those prayers.

Why isn't there a foundation, like Globe Santa, that can handle these requests? People-in-need could make requests and people-in-less-need could donate time, money, or goods to help others out. The foundation would be responsible for matching up pairs of donors and recipients.

Happy Holidays - Jewish Style

A very talented classmate of mine (from last year at Schechter) put Hallel to....some less traditional tunes!
I want to direct you to her website for you to enjoy it.

I hope you like it!
(and have a good sense of humor - if not, don't bother)

Too much of a good thing

I have too many credit cards.

That is not to say that I spend more than I can afford, just that I am a sucker for the "save 10% when you open an account" signs. I cave. And open the account. And then carry the card around in my wallet, not using it except when I happen to be shopping in that store AND remember that I have their card. Which is next to never.

So in a procrastination tactic from writing finals, I canceled some of my cards this morning. Ok, only one card. It was my second Sears account. Who needs two Sears credit cards? Not me. I also cut up another card, but the account is still in use, so it doesn't quite count.

Here's what I don't understand. The nice customer sales representative on the phone told me that I could "now cut up my gold card". Why cut up the credit card? If it is to stop me from using it, don't I have will-power? Didn't I just cancel it and doesn't that render the card ineffective anyway? And lastly, as evidenced by my puzzle-piecing-together skills, can't you just put it back together again? Even if I throw it away cut up, aren't thieves just as smart as I am, at putting cards back together?

[I took a great picture of my cut up cards, put back together - but decided that even though I should feel confident posting it because the account is now canceled, I won't. No need to tempt fate and have my identity stolen.]

If I were more of an artist, I might make a masterpiece of cut-up credit cards. I'm tempted to put these pieces in an envelope, save them, and one day create a work of art. Maybe it would be a statement on the state of the economy. Anyone else have cut-up cards I can use?

Thesis Interviews

I've conducted a number of interviews for my thesis this week (and have a few more planned for the next coming weeks). While all have gone well, some have been more encouraging than others for the state of sexuality education in Jewish schools.

It is hard for me to be a neutral interviewer. I try to be an active listener, rather than being in dialogue with the other person. But it is hard for me to leave my opinions and thoughts completely out of it, particularly when the interviewee wants advice. I tend to leave my advice, resources, and offers of help until at least the end of the interview, if not until email contact afterwards.

One interviewee expressed concern over his knowledge of abuse and didn't know how to teach about it. Did I have any advice or curriculum, he asked. After the interview, I sent him an email with a few thoughts and a book recommendation.

If you've ever engaged me in this topic, you know how strongly I feel about it. So you can imagine my excitement to receive an email back from him, telling me that he's already ordered the book that I recommended. I am hoping that one day my research will make a difference in the world of Jewish Sexuality Education. To know that it might make a difference on a smaller scale, right now, is a fabulous feeling.